Saildryer



May l, 1962 s. P. CLARK 3,032,202

SAILDRYER Filed Aug. 28, 1959 3a j; Q r 2 36 -5 ZI-:19-

1a 3 14 34x, 5 j i f4 han fr 25g-wensen l? c/ar/r @t/ma. I E 5 United States Patent 3,032,202 SAILDRYER Stevenson P. Clark, 3185 Royal Road, Coconut Grove, Miami, Fla. Filed Aug. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 836,634 1 Claim. (Cl. 211--1) This invention relates to a structure for drying sails, and more particularly to a saildryer adapted to dry a plurality of sails simultaneously.

Heretofore, sails have generally been dried by laying them on the ground, where they take up much-needed space, and it has also been difficult to Wash them satisfactorily. The present invention resolves these problems by means of a sail dryer structure which includes a mast or post which is anchored upright in the ground, as by inserting it in a slab of concrete or the like. The post is provided with a plurality of sail tracks extending vertically in angularly spaced relation therearound for slidable engagement with complementary cleats or the like on a sail to assist in raising and lowering the sail. The top and bottom ends of the post have eye bolts secured therein at spaced intervals therearound, substan tially in register with the several tracks. Surrounding the central slab of concrete are peripheral vand circularly aligned individual small concrete slabs each anchoring an eyebolt. Faucets may also be provided in several of these slabs for washing the sails. Each top eye bolt also carries a pulley, and a halyard is trained over the pulley which is equipped with a clasp on one end thereof to engage the top of a sail to be raised or lowered and the other end may be fastened to an eye bolt or the like in an adjacent peripheral slab. In one form of the invention wires or ropes are stretched tautly between the eye bolts or other fastening means in the peripheral slabs and the top eyes on ,the mast or post with at least one of the wires having a turn buckle for tightening the structure. These wires or stays may slidably receive the sail rings or fasteners of a jib sail. The jib sail may be raised into position by the halyard, and its free inner apex may be fastened to a tack pad veye on the mast.

The tracks on the mast may comprise either angularly spaced T-shaped strips, or elongated cleft gap apertures to receive either the U-shaped cleats on a main sail or the conventional mast rope thereon. The halyard is then attached to the top of the sail at the mast and is drawn over the pulley so that the sail will be stretched along the mast for its full height. The bottom inner apex of the sail then is anchored to one of the tack pad eyes provided on the lower end of the mast, while the bottom outer apex may be anchored to the fastening means on an adjacent peripheral slab.

The mast may be removably mounted in the central concrete anchoring slab by providing it with a tapered bottom end which wedges into the slab or alternatively, it may be threaded into the slab. Means may also be employed for permitting selective raising and lowering of the mast from any position.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sail drying structure which is effective to dry a plurality of sails simultaneously, with suicient room between the sails to permit washing the sails and to aiord circulation of air for quick drying action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sail drying structure as described wherein means are afforded for guided raising and lowering of the sails.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structure as described which may be employed with either main sails or jib sails selectively.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dryer structure which holds the sails securely during a drying operation.

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Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds in accordance with the drawings, in which:

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is a front elevational view, partly in vertical section, of a sail dryer structure according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic top plan view of the struc- Iture shown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale of the structure shown in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of a center post or mast according to the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of fastening means for the saildryer structure of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a saildryer structure 10 is shown according to the invention, which includes a central mast or post 12, a center slab of concrete or the like 14 removably receiving the post 12, and a plurality of peripherally spaced concrete slabs 16 in equiangular relation at a predetermined radial distance from the post 12 and the center slab 14.

VEach of the peripheral slabs 16 has fastening means 1.8' secured thereto which, as seen more particularly in FIGURE 5, may include an eyebolt 20 and a cleat 22 secured to the eyebolt by suitable means such as a connecting wire 24. A plurality of stays 26 may be secured to the fastening means 18 and to the cleats 22 thereof, as by clasps 28, and are anchored at their upper ends to fastening means 30 which desirably comprise eyebolts. The stays 26 may be formed of any suitable wire or rope material and are preferably stretched taut, with at least one of the stays being provided with a turnbuckle strucltyure 32, to securely anchor` the post 12 in position. Lower eye bolts or the like 34 are provided around the bottom level of the post 12 and in register with the eyebolts 3), as hereinafter set forth.

Desirably, twelve of the stays 26 are utilized in conjunction with a corresponding number of peripheral slabs 16, but it will be appreciated that this vnumber may be varied, so long as a sufficient space is provided between the respective wires to afford freedom of movement in washing the sails and adequate circulation of air therebetween. In order to provide for washing of the sails, a plurality of faucets 36 may be provided in the slabs 16, the faucets being preferably located in slabs which are spaced from adjacent slabs as shown.

In order to provide for raising and lowering the sails, pulley means 38 are secured to each of the eyebolts 30, or to other suitable fastening means, and a halyard 40 is passed therethrough having a snap 42 at one end while the other end may be connected to the fastening means 18, as by securing it to the cleat 22.

Thus the snap means 42 may be secured to the upper apex of a sail, as indicated with respect to the main sail 44 in FIGURE l. By pulling on the other end of the halyard, the main sail may be raised to the position shown. However, to facilitate this operation and also to hold the sail securely in position after it has been raised, track means are provided on the mast or post 12 which may include a plurality of elongated T-shape track members 46 secured by screws or the like `48 to the mast as shown in FIGURE 4. These track structures 46 may extend axially of the mast and in register with the upper and lower pairs of eyebolts or fastening means 30 and 36 at spaced intervals around the post, in angular correspondence with the location of the guide wires 26 and the slabs 16, and are adapted to slidably receive and retain complementary U-shaped cleats 50 which are secured to the inner edge of the sail 44.

Alternatively, track means 46a may be provided comprising an elongated cleft gap extending between the registered eyebolts 30 and 36 as in the case of the T- shaped tracks 46. The cleft gaps 46a have a substantially circular cross-sectional conguration and are open at one end to the outer surface of the post as also shown in FIGURE 4. The lower end of each of the track struclures 46a desirably is configured to receive a snubbed rope 52 which may be secured to the inner edge of a main sail 54 in a conventional manner. The halyard snap 42 is engaged at the apex of the sail 44 to draw the cleats 50 upwardly along the tracks 46 in the embodiment using the y'l'shaped structure shown at the right hand side of FIGURE 4, and the snap means 42 may snap over the upper end of the main rope 52 or otherwise, to perform the same function. Once they have been elevated to the full extent, the inner bottom apexes of the sails 44 and 54 may be secured by a snap structure or the like to be adjacent lower eyebolt 36, such a snap strncture being indicated in FIGURE 1 by reference numeral 56.

In the event that a jib sail such as is shown in FIG- URE 3 and designated by reference numeral 58 is to `be secured in position for drying, rings or fastening cleats 60 along one edge of the sail may be fastened to one of the guide ropes 26 and raised by the halyard 40. The lower, inner apex of the sail is then secured to one of the eyebolts 36, as by a connecting line 62.

As seen in FIGURE l, the bottom of the post 12 is desirably tapered at 64 to form a wedge which lits readily into a complementary wedge opening 66 in the concrete `slab 14. Alternatively, however, the base may be threaded to engage corresponding threading in the slab structure 14, and a tabernacle structure (not shown) may be positioned approximately three feet from the base so that the entire saildryer may be lowered in any position.

There has thus been provided a saildryer structure which is simple, compact, and adapted for use in any location where sails would ordinarily be dried. The device rnay be installed without diiiiculty, and once it has been so installed, it may be raised or lowered at will with a minimum or effort. Likewise, jib sails, main sails or almost any other conventional types of sails may be positioned for washing 'and for drying and may be maintained on the structure until they are needed, Without any storage problems such as have existed heretofore.

Although I have herein set forth and described my invention with respect to certain specific principles and `details thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these may be varied without dA parting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the hereunto appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A sail dryer comprising a center post, means supporting said center post in upright position in the ground, a plurality of blocks disposed in the ground in radially spaced relation to said post and in mutually angularly spaced relation, a cleat mounted in each of said blocks, a stay for each of said cleats connecting said cleats and the upper end of said post to stabilize said post, a pulley at the upper end of said post, a halyard extending through said pulley and releasably connected to one of said cleats, said halyard having snapmeans at the end opposite said cleat for engaging the apex of a triangular sail to be dried, said cleat being effective to anchor the outer lower corner of the sail by means of a line connected thereto, and fastening means on the lower end of said pole for engaging the inner lower corner of the sail to secure the sail in drying position, said halyard being effective to raise and lower the sail through its connection with the upper apex thereof upon release of said halyard from said cleat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 449,004 Skinner Mar. 24, 1891 955,257 Fridell Apr. 19, 1910 1,123,105 Crews Dec. 29, 1914 1,326,059 Humphrey Dec. 23, 1919 2,245,878 `Sorenson June 17, 1941v 2,267,469 Joys Dec. 23, 1941 2,355,008 Moran Aug. l, 1944 2,391,536 Anderson Dec. 25, 1945 2,521,768 Adams Sept. 12, 1950 2,591,416 vFoster Apr. 1, 1952 42,634,450 Britton Apr. 14, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS *765,101 France Dec. 7, 1933 

